Updated at 12.26
FORMER ARSENAL DEFENDER Martin Keown has questioned Mesut Ozil’s commitment to the club, claiming he has “mentally left the football club.”
The 28-year-old has made just four starts for Arsene Wenger’s side this season and was not involved in the Europa League tie with BATE.
Keown is not confident that Ozil’s injury problems are genuine, believing that the Germany international is already thinking about his future away from Arsenal.
“I think he’s testing Wenger more than any other player has. I think it was Belarus the other week, he didn’t fancy going. He didn’t want to go,” Keown told BBC Radio 5.
“Suddenly he was injured again, he played nine minutes against West Bromwich Albion on the Monday, so how did he get injured there?
I think in some departments he’s already left. Psychologically, mentally, he’s already left the football club. Maybe Wenger is now trying to do the best deal he can to get some compensation for him.”
Ozil has been linked with a January transfer away from the Emirates Stadium, with both Manchester United and Inter Milan touted as possible destinations for the midfielder.
Arsenal recorded a scoreless draw at Chelsea earlier this season, with Alex Iwobi playing behind Alexandre Lacazette, and Keown feels that Arsene Wenger is also looking at the future of the Gunners without the German.
‘I think he doesn’t want that sort of player around the youngsters in the group,” the 51-year-old said.
“They played exceptionally well at Chelsea, where Iwobi did a really manful job – I know he hasn’t got the talent of Ozil, of course, but suddenly Arsenal could compete in both departments defensively and attacking-wise.
“It was probably the best performance I’ve seen in a couple of years.
“I was really impressed and it seemed like every player was giving their best. Alexis Sanchez is different. He loves playing football, just give him a ball and he’ll play and that’s all he wants to do.
“But Ozil, I think he’s downed tools, he wants to go and it’s going to get messy.”
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Very poor performance in a very poor game in very poor conditions but we got the result. Tis a grand thing to win a game when playing that badly. It wasn’t even a game for the purists in the end.
@Jim Demps: I suppose congratulations are in order. It’s not often Munster win away in Wales. Or away anywhere really. It’s easy to see why they haven’t won a trophy in years
@bread of heaven: Great story. You should tell that at house parties.
@borgig: era you’re better off blocking Bread of Heaven. He’s nothing but a troll
@bread of heaven: You’re a dope
@bread of heaven: I think you were meant to post that under the name Jim Demps. You forgot to change your account. So you’re the Irish Pain, bread of heaven and Jim Demps.
@bread of heaven: whoops!
@Garrett Kelleher: Real split personality, good call out
@Garrett Kelleher: I’d say you’re onto something there. There’s only one me though, the other two lads certainly look like they want to be me mind.
@bread of heaven: I didn’t think welsh rugby supporters were allowed to say anything in public after their showing in the champions and challenge cup.
@Martin Quinn: correct all around. Wasnt a spectacular of a weekend by any means. There are years those wins and draw would be greatly appreciated but that weekend looked dour. I thought Scarlets deserved a win but they just seemed incapable of turning possession and territory into points in that 1st half. Leinster weren’t great either but just seemed to get those points. Maybe some luck involved too.
@Pseud O’Nym: haha, great handle, you have the perfect name for calling out that mix up by the bread of heaven póster whoever they are.
That was an abysmal rugby match. Both sides were very poor to say the least, granted in dire conditions. A win is a win tho and no injuries were picked up it seems. No real stand out performances, only one who impressed me was Wycherly he has a very bright future.
Like last night an ugly win is still a win. Sign of champions winning without your best players.
14 points conceded in last 2 matches not a bad way of looking at it
@Folíní: one of them are the dragons
@Eoin Murphy: no fly’s on you
Terrible game of rugby. Both sides Kicked the leather off it. But a win is a win I suppose.
@Luke walkee: agreed. Poor tactics in the conditions. More offloads and through the backs the better option.
@Leo Erah: I’d say the weather conditions and the number of changes dictated the limited game plan.
@Leo Erah: In those conditions? No you’re almost better off without the ball in that type of a game.
Brutal match, 4 points though so happy!
We were poor. Weather is not an excuse, toothless & brainless in attack and Dragon’s cut through us with impunity when the urge took them. Having said that, they were lucky to get away with just the one yellow. Bleyendaal… Thank flip he was at 12, as any time he put boot to ball it went terribly wrong. We’ll take it, but depth is not as great as thought.
@Tomás O’Loughlin: Cut through with impunity? They barely ran the ball. They kicked in in behind us all day all right. Have a look at the stats. Munster beat them soundly every part of the game. Meters made, carries, turnovers, passes, tackles…..
@Mark Wallace: They made easy ground every single time they ran the ball. It took us 5 attempts to ground our try. Were you watching a different match?
@Tomás O’Loughlin: Yeah! Best position for Bleyendaal is the bench. Scrappy game could have gone either way.
Both teams made around 90% of their tackles. There was 118 kicks and 37 lineouts…. Not the most entertaining of games.
Another awful performance… victories masking how poor they’re actually playing… they’ll be found fairly soon when they meet decent opposition… can’t fault the players for attitude effort and workrate they’re just very poorly coached… jones has to go come the summer… van graan doesn’t seem to be improving them either like friend or mcfarland are with their privinces… be interesting to see the wagebill of todays munster team against the one lining out for the dragons huge difference id say
@Tomas Lyons: In the quarters finals in Europe, top of the conference in the Pro14 and second to Leinster overall. Yeah they’re awful.
@Mark Wallace: ya we’ll see come the end of the season what trophies we’ve won… not saying theyre awful but their not moving onto the level u need to be to win silverware…. we’ll win the same as we did for the last few yrs zilch!!!
@Tomas Lyons: ‘victories mask how poor they are playing’? Sorry?? Surely the main aim is victory?
a penance of a game …weather , players, tactics and officials were dire. only one to come out with a modicum of credit was sweetnam. I really think he could turn out to be a fine player. finding it tough to get a look in for the bigger games …may open up for him if Conway was considered at 15 but haley has been doing well there too.
Yeah sweetman looked sharp. I like the way he was tackled in the air but by no means looked for the penalty.
I dont get the Bleyendaal at 12 experiment. Sam Arnold and Jaco Taute are both fine 12s if we are without Rory Scannell.
Badly managed, Dragons played the conditions much better, VG clearly doesn’t understand this type of game, same of TB who really should never have been made captain, decision making was terrible. This overheard comment sums it up… “clearly they never played a derby match on the back pitch in Thomond on a winters evening”